Caerphilly County Borough Council has revealed that £5.1 million of Welsh Government grant money was invested into affordable housing in the last financial year.
The money was made available to the local authority through the Welsh Government’s Social Housing Grant Programme.
The money was secured by the council’s housing strategy team and, through working with partner housing associations Pobl and United Welsh, has helped deliver a affordable housing developments across the county borough.
Cllr Lisa Phipps, the council’s Cabinet Member for Homes and Places, said: “Meeting people’s housing need is a key objective for the council.
“Collaborative working between the council and its partner housing associations is key in helping to deliver this objective.
“Everyone deserves the opportunity to live in good quality, affordable housing.
“The importance of such housing in contributing to health, wellbeing and regeneration should not be underestimated – housing is at the heart of all our communities.”
Developments the money has gone to include homes at the fire stations in Bargoed and Cefn Fforest.
Homes are also being developed as part of the Welsh Government’s Smaller Properties Programme; aimed at helping those who need to downsize as a direct result of the “bedroom tax” – the development on the site of the former Goodrich Hotel in Caerphilly town is an example.
Councillors from Labour and Plaid Cymru recently called for more to be done to secure affordable housing through private developments.
The council recently agreed a new policy where affordable housing through such developments could be transferred to it as new housing stock, rather than to a housing association or other registered social landlord.